Publisher of Natwar's book receives 'threat calls'

After the official publisher of former external affairs minister Natwar Singh’s book ‘One Life is Not Enough: An Autobiography’ complained about receiving threat calls, the police, on Friday, provided security cover to the staff.

Police said an unknown person, claiming to be a Congressman, made a threat call to Rupa Publication’s Mumbai unit at Tardeo junction.

Singh’s soon-to-be-released book recently sparked controversy over a few allegations made in it.

According to the police, the caller warned the publisher against selling Natwar Singh’s book and threatened a violent response if t he publisher refused to pay heed to the warning. After this, the matter was reported to the police.

“At the publisher’s request, we have provided security cover, for which deployment was made in and around the office throughout the day on Friday. A few guards were posted in the night,” said Vinayak Deshmukh, deputy commissioner of police, zone III.

No complaint has been registered by the publisher, the senior officer said.

Singh, i n his book, has reportedly made a number of sensational allegations. He has alleged that it was at Rahul Gandhi’s insistence and not Sonia Gandhi’s ‘inner voice’ that stopped her from becoming prime minister in 2004.

Singh has also alleged that Rajiv Gandhi had sent the Indian Peace Keeping Force to Sri Lanka without taking the consent of the cabinet.

The former Congressman has also alleged that PMO files used to be sent to Sonia Gandhi.

Singh quit t he Congress in 2008 after resigning from the UPA-I government in 2005 over the Iraqi food-for-oil scam.